


There and Back Again

by Amorette



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-26
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-17 07:06:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4657200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amorette/pseuds/Amorette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The title's inspiration is obvious. Snape goes home after finishing school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	There and Back Again

**Author's Note:**

> Written back in the days when Snape was assumed to be a pureblood living in a castle. I didn't buy it and it turned out, I was right.

There and Back Again  
by Amorette

Severus Snape grabbed the end of his trunk and gave a tug. It landed with a thud on the ground next to the cart. The station master, a fat, pale wizard who had quit school after failing his OWLs, ignored the boy as he shut up the station. The Hogsmeade Regular only came through this small stop three days a week so the station only appeared for a few hours before and after the train was due. As Severus started to trudge up the road, his trunk floating behind him, the station master called out, "Oi, what if some Muggle sees you?"

Severus didn't deign to answer. He'd been making the hike along the narrow road for the past four years and had never encountered a Muggle. Every fall, he walked down the road to catch the train to take him to school and every spring, he walked back up and the only person he had seen was a witch who lived in a tumbledown, thatched roof house on this side of the bridge. Even if he did, by some fluke, encounter a Muggle, Snape had charmed wheels on the bottom of the trunk so that it would appear as if he were pulling it behind him. 

Behind him, the station disappeared with a wet pop. The station master picked up his lunch bucket and started down the road in the opposite direction, to his small house. There weren't a lot of Wizarding Folk in this corner of Yorkshire and not many more Muggles.

The sky threatened rain but, for once, held off. Severus' cloak was worn, the hem let down again over his long, thin legs, and it wasn't much for keeping off a heavy rain.

School was over. He had taken his last NEWT that morning. Tonight, his fellow students would be celebrating at the Leaving Feast but he hadn't remained behind for the occasion. Gryffindor would be presented the Quidditch Cup and Ravenclaw the House Cup, neither event effected by his absence. He was now a legal, adult wizard. He had had an Apparation License for two years and could, if he wanted, cast a spell to repel the rain and another to float himself and his luggage up the road like a Maharajah on the back of an elephant but he was, by force of habit, frugal even with his magic. Besides, he was in no hurry to get home.

He knew what was waiting for him. Three small rooms above the tiny village shop his mother ran. There were exactly four Wizard shops in his home village and his mother's was the smallest and meanest, selling secondhand cauldrons and cheap knock-off potion ingredients, at the end of lane that backed up against a Muggle warehouse. The rest of the town, the Muggle part, wasn't much bigger or better off than the Wizarding portion. There were only a hundred or so Muggles there, dependent on a few herds of sheep and the occasional tourist who wandered by to stare at the ruins of what was supposed to have been an Abbey but which Severus knew had once been the home of a powerful Dark Wizard. He'd seen the Muggle postcards, showing empty window arches against the sky. None of those pictures caught the ghosts, most of them howling their death agonies, as they stalked the abandoned halls.

Severus had seen the ghosts. Even spoken to a few of them. They didn't understand the tourists with their cameras and complained that the Muggles ignored them. Severus wasn't terribly sympathetic. He wished he were as invisible, as ignored, as the ghosts were to the Muggles. He wished, some days, that he were as dead as the ghosts, although the idea of floating aimlessly around his mother's shop was as horrible as being there alive.

He met no one on the walk home. It was just starting to rain when he reached the village and there were no Muggles about. It was easy to step between the two old buildings, one an empty pub, the other a cheap shop selling used Muggle clothing, and slip into the magical part of town. Not that this narrow street, which made Knockturn Alley look like a royal road, struck Severus as all that magical. It was dark and close and always smelt like burnt cat hair.

"Ah, Mr. Snape." It was Mr. Hodgepiddle, who owned three-quarters of the Magical buildings. He was standing in front of the grandest, a small shop that sold most of the odds and ends a Witch or Wizard might need, and also served as the local Owl Post Office. Above it was his home, where he lived with his family. "I thought Hogwarts wasn't out until tomorrow?" Hodgepiddle said. "I'm sure the children aren't due back until then."

"I left early," Severus replied, forcing himself to be polite. Hodgepiddle was his mother's landlord, after all. Most of her stock had come through his shop, when it was new, ending up in hers after a few years and a few owners. "This was my last year and I'm done with my NEWTS."

"Really!" To Severus' horror, Hodgepiddle stepped forward, hand extended. After a moment of confusion, Severus shook Mr. Hodgepiddle's hand. "Congratulations. How many NEWTS did you take?"

"Ten." Severus wasn't very good at small talk. He had to think about what to say next. He could boast, and say he was certain he did well on all of them, but he knew that would be rude. "Hard work."

"I'd say so!" Hodgepiddle rubbed his hands together. "I only took five myself. Then, I'm a businessman, not a scholar."

"Quite."

The rain started to fall in earnest. Hodgepiddle squinted up at the sky as if he were personally insulted. 

"I'll be seeing you about this summer," said Hodgepiddle as he stepped back into the entry to his shop. The statement was pitched to be a question. He couldn't out right ask if Severus had found employment somewhere else but the shopkeeper could hint. After all, Hodgepiddle no doubt needed a bit of gossip to offer his wife over dinner.

"I'm not sure," was all Severus said, then turned and walked the scant yards to his mother's.

There was a used broom in the window, a Whisk 100, that was at least three times older than Severus. A sign, lettered in his mother's tiny, precise script, declared that it was well-maintained, with only one owner. Severus wondered, idly, if that was a lie. He took a deep breath to steel himself against the ordeal to come and entered. The bell over the door was off-key, in spite of his mother's efforts to charm it to give off a pleasant tinkle. Instead, it clunked.

"Yes?"

His mother stepped out from the back of the shop, wiping her hands on her apron. When she saw Severus, her false smile flickered and faded.

"You're home early." She turned and went into the back. Severus left his trunk in the shop's single aisle. He doubted there would be any customers inconvenienced, and followed her. "I don't have anything for you for tea."

"I ate on the train."

The room behind the shop served as workroom and kitchen. His mother was mending some scarves with the colors of various professional Quidditch teams. She must be branching out, he thought, pushing a Windbourne Wasps scarf aside. It had a nasty stain along one edge.

His mother sat down and poured herself a cup of tea. There was enough in the pot, she indicated, for him to have a cup to but he declined. His mother made her tea too weak to be called proper tea. It tasted like warm water to Severus. He had acquired the taste at Hogwarts for the strongest, blackest tea he could get.

"So," she said, picking up a Chudley Cannons scarf in need of some darning, "How was school?"

"The usual."

"Did you do well on your exams?"

He shrugged. "I won't know for certain for six weeks but I think so. I applied for an apprenticeship."

"Good." She left the first scarf to the mercies of her darning needle and egg and picked up another, this one with some scorch marks on the tassels. "When will you know about it?"

"Not sure. Professor Gruber wrote a reference for me and he seemed to think I wouldn't have to wait for my NEWT results to be published."

"Good. I mean. . .I'm glad you did well. . ."

"But you don't want to have to feed me. I know."

"Severus!" His mother sighed. "I do think about other things, you know. I am glad to see you."

Severus shrugged again. "I can go to London, if you want."

His mother sucked in her breath. "That's your decision, of course, you are of age."

"Not to see him." Severus made a face. "I haven't seen him since we left and I don't want to see him. I meant to look for a job. Professor Gruber gave me a letter to give to apothecaries, if my apprenticeship doesn't work out. I can go to London and. . ."

"You can stay here." His mother's voice was firm. "I'm sure you'll get your apprenticeship. You've done so well in school. Who did you apply to?"

Severus bit his tongue to keep from correcting his mother's grammar. He shifted on his stool. It was too warm in the little room. After seven years in the corners of the Slytherin dungeons, he was accustomed to rooms that were chilly. 

His mother set down the singed scarf, her eyes narrowing. "Severus?"

"Gaius Malfoy."

His mother was so surprised she dropped the scarf she was holding. The other scarf, still wrapped around the darning egg, fell to the floor as well. She pulled her wand out of her apron pocket and flicked it at the two scarves. The darning needle resumed its efforts as she returned to trimming off the scorch marks.

"I know his nephew, you know. Lucius was at Hogwarts with me."

His mother's scissors trimmed furiously at the scorch marks. She kept her eyes focused on her task. "He's older than you, isn't he?"

"Lucius or Gaius?" His sarcasm only got a sharp glare from his mother. "Yes, Lucius was four years ahead of me in school. I don't know how old Gaius is."

"Severus, I very much doubt Gaius Malfoy will want an apprentice with a sharp tongue."

"He won't care about my tongue, Mother."

"SEVERUS!" She slammed her hands down on the table top, making her tea cup jump. "Your attitude won't stand you well in the Malfoy household."

Severus resisted the urge to point out that he knew more about the Malfoy household than she did. Instead, he muttered something his mother could take as an apology. She sniffed and took a sip of tea. They sat in silence for several minutes until his mother sighed and reached out her hand to lay over his.

"You've grown," she said softly. "I hardly recognized you when you came in. You look so much like my father. . ."

Severus stood up. "I'm tired. I stayed up late the last few nights studying." He glanced out the window over the sink. The rain was coming down heavily now and the sky outside the color of an iron cauldron. "I think I'll go up to bed."

He fetched his trunk from the shop, then came back into the workroom, his luggage drifting behind him.

"We'll have a proper breakfast tomorrow," his mother said, managing a weak smile. "I really did plan on having a nice supper to welcome you home tomorrow. I'll go shopping first thing tomorrow and we'll have a nice breakfast and you can tell me all about your year."

Severus nodded as he thought, not everything, mother, not by a long shot. He trudged up the stairs into the cluttered sitting room. His mother's cat was curled up in the chair in front of the fire. How sad is that, he thought as he crossed to his bedroom, there is only one comfortable seat in the house because there is only ever one person here. The cat glanced up at him, then went back to sleep. There wasn't a fire in the grate and the room was so dim, Severus nearly tripped over his mother's mending box on the way to his room. 

The wards he had set on the door in the fall were still intact. He wasn't surprised. There wasn't anything in his room to interest his mother. He muttered the password and the door swung open.

The light in his room, what little came through a high window opposite the door, was so dim he was hard pressed to make out the outlines of his furniture. He cast a Lumos spell. The room was unchanged. A narrow bed, the bed curtains mismatched, with obvious patches near the hooks, stood along one wall. There was a table that served as a desk, a hard wooden chair tucked under it. A bookcase hung on the wall above the desk, holding a few old school books, too worn to sell back used, and one photo in a tarnished frame. It was of Severus, age seven, sitting on his mother's lap. His grandparents stood stiffly on either side of their daughter. He didn't bother to look and see if anyone in the photo noticed his return as he lit the lamp on the table. 

Dropping his trunk at the foot of the bed, Severus opened the wardrobe that took up most of one wall. Inside were a couple of spare blankets, as mended and worn as everything else in the house. Severus had few clothes. Any garment he had outgrown was quickly converted to rags or sold again to another, smaller poor boy. The only decent thing he owned, a long wool scarf in the Slytherin colors, had been a gift from Lucius Malfoy the spring Lucius had left school. Severus only wore it to Quidditch matches, preferring to keep it as clean and new looking as possible. He took the scarf out of his trunk now, intending to put it on the shelf with the blankets, and stopped, sitting back on the bed, the soft scarf held reverently in his hands.

Severus had been so pleased to walk into his Head of House's study a few days before and find Lucius Malfoy standing there. Severus hadn't seen Lucius since a brief word at Christmas, when Malfoy had been in Hogsmeade over the weekend. Lucius had been with Narcissa Black, who sneered at Severus, so Lucius had only managed to say he wanted to talk to Severus in the spring.

As Severus entered the room, Lucius had given him a warm smile and said, "Ah, here is the man himself."

Man. Severus liked that. He had been startled to realize that his last bit of growth had made him taller than Lucius. Lucius had looked up at Severus and laughed in delight. Severus had felt his face flush at that. Lucius has slapped him on the shoulder, as if they were dearest comrades, and they had taken seats around the table for tea. After some boring small talk, during which Lucius told some amusing stories about his wedding preparations and a recalcitrant house elf and Professor Gruber told some amusing stories about Dumbledore's lunacies and the on-going annoyances with the other Houses and Severus, who was incapable of telling an amusing story, sat in silence, Gruber stood up and excused himself.

Lucius, his legs stretched out towards the fender, had turned his head to give Severus a lazy smile. Severus had felt his blood flow into his cheeks again, and a bit lower as well.

"Starting NEWTS are you?"

"I took Charms yesterday."

"How did you do?"

Severus shrugged. "Seemed easy enough."

To Severus' bewilderment, Lucius laughed loudly at his response. "When I think of all the students who sweat blood over their exams, revising to all hours, in a sheer panic, and Severus Snape says 'seemed easy enough.' You are a talented wizard, you know."

"Of course I know." Severus was irritated. He wasn't sure how to respond to Lucius. He didn't know if he was being mocked or complimented.

Then Lucius had sat up straight, setting his cup down on the table, and leaned towards Severus.

"You are an intelligent, gifted wizard, Severus. Pureblood and powerful. You deserve better than you have gotten here."

The compliment, given so intently, made Severus blink and shrink back into his chair.

Lucius cocked his head to one side, studying Severus with those icy grey eyes, one side of his mouth turned up in a faint smile.

"Have you ever heard of my uncle, Gaius Malfoy?"

"Of course! He writes articles for Potion Brewer's Gazette and the Cauldron Quarterly! He's writing a series now on the experimental use of. . ."

Lucius waved Severus' enthusiastic remarks away as if they were annoying smoke. Severus fell silent, baffled, yet again, by his complete inability to understand the complexities of social interaction Lucius was right. He was intelligent. He had gotten top marks all through school. He studied extra subjects, like languages and advanced mathematics, that weren't even required courses. Yet he had never learned how to say the right thing to people. It was frustrating. Something must have shown in his face because Lucius had smiled and said, "Sorry to interrupt but I know you. You're just like my dear uncle. Get off on some deep bit of potion brewing and you might as well be speaking Greek."

Severus didn't say he did speak Greek. Professor Sinistra had given him lessons for the last four years.

"The point is, my dear boy, my uncle is in need of a qualified apprentice."

Severus remembered feeling faint. He had been worried about what he would do after school. While his family line, both maternal and paternal, was as pure as could be, his was a poor family. His mother's family hadn't had money for ages and his father's had lost theirs before Severus was born. It was the poverty that Severus blamed for his father's appalling behavior. Without the right connections, getting the right apprenticeship was nearly impossible. Severus had resigned himself to serving as some apothecary's assistant, washing bottles and writing labels, or the like. To be apprenticed to one of the finest brewers in the country, from one of the finest families in the country, was beyond anything Severus had ever dreamt possible. Still, he was bad at interpreting people so he had asked, his eyes narrow with suspicion, "Do you mean me?"

Lucius had laughed, throwing his head back so that his fall of moonlight blond hair glittered in the torch light. Severus had felt faint again, this time not from the mention of apprenticeship.

"You," said Lucius, shaking his head and chuckling, "are quite the brightest student to come through Hogwarts in years. Don't you know that?"

Severus didn't answer for fear he said the wrong thing.

"If that ridiculous Headmaster had been doing his job, you would be Head Boy."

"I don't want to be Head Boy!"

"Well, you should be practically on a pedestal, held up for the other students as someone to admire and emulate."

Severus had begun to wonder if Lucius had had something in his tea. Several of the good potions students were known to brew up something a bit amusing to slip into each other's drinks, although no one ever tried it on Severus. Before he could speculate further, Lucius stood up and went to lean on the mantelpiece. The sight had rather diverted Severus' attention.

"You are Slytherin!" Lucius was saying, gesturing emphatically, "And because of the asinine, nay, criminal prejudices fostered by the administration of this school," Lucius loaded the word with contempt, "you have been shunned. Worse, pushed aside, bullied even, treated like a pariah!"

Lucius had gone on for some time on the general state of the Wizarding World and the need for a change in administration while Severus sat shifting uncomfortably in his chair. Then Lucius had said, "Didn't you get an Outstanding on your Potions OWL?"

"Yes. Perfect score, in fact. Got a certificate."

"A certificate." Lucius sniffed in contempt. "You deserve a good deal more than a certificate."

And Lucius had told Severus that Lucius was certain Gaius Malfoy would like to take Severus on as an apprentice. Severus needn't wait for his NEWT results, since they are all quite certain he would pass all his exams as easily as he had his OWLs. In week's time, or so, Lucius had said that afternoon, he would arrange for Severus Snape to become the bound apprentice of Gaius Malfoy.

As Severus sat in his dark little bedroom, on the narrow lumpy bed, running his scarf through his fingers, he began to wonder if he had only imagined Lucius' promise. He hoped, as he pressed the soft fabric against his face, that if he imagined the promise, that he would go completely mad and live in a fantasy world complete with Lucius Malfoy leaning against the mantelpiece for the rest of his life.

When Severus woke up the next morning, his prick was hard and his head full of thoughts of Lucius Malfoy, of Malfoy's long legs and silver hair and, as he had on many occasions before, he wrapped his hand around himself and in a few sharp strokes, brought himself to a quick and silent orgasm. He cleaned up with a practiced spell, then dressed and went downstairs. 

His mother had made what was, for her, an ample breakfast. He took sausages and mash and eggs and made his own tea, ignoring his mother's frown as he used extra spoonfuls of leaves.

They talked, stiff and uncomfortable with each other. Severus always stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays so they only saw each other for a few weeks in the summer. He wondered, as she nattered on about whatever the neighbors were up to, whether other children were genuinely close to their parents or was it only a polite fiction.

"Mrs. Grimstead," said his mother, referring to the village apothecary, an elderly widow who was competent but nothing more, "asked if you'd be home. I think she has some work for you, until your apprenticeship comes through."

Mrs. Grimstead, who was short and bent and only came up to Severus' breastbone, set him brewing some basic potions for a few days, then, when the weather finally cleared, sent him to gather some lichens on the hills above the village. He hadn't mentioned Gaius Malfoy to her but she kept telling him to sit up straight and remember his manners. Normally, when he worked for her, the old biddy barely noticed his existence. The magic of the Malfoy name, he thought.

Unfortunately, the Malfoys hadn't contacted him. He had only been home six days, he told himself as he trudged through the wet gorse, in his oldest and most mended clothes. The knees of his trousers consisted of darned patches stitched to other patches. He was above the ruins when he found a particularly likely bit of rock. He dropped to his knees, cursing as the patch on his left knee tore again. He knew he was a bony creature but it still irked him. Dropping his collection bag, he slumped against a ruined fragment of wall and looked down at what had once been the central hall of the castle. There were some Muggle tourists down there, gaudy colored brochures in their hands, cameras and other mysterious Muggle apparatus around their necks. One of them, who wore an odd skullcap with a bill on the front, kept pointing back towards the village. Another, a woman, Severus thought, in spite of her trousers, kept pointing the opposite way and holding up her brochure to reinforce her point.

"Odd things, Muggles."

Lucius Malfoy was so close to Severus that he could feel the puff of the other wizard's breath on his cheek. Severus nearly fell backwards in surprise.

Crouching next to him, Malfoy wore green velvet robes the exact color of the grass and gorse around them. Under it, he had a jacket of some kind, the color of wine, with silver threads shot through it, over black trousers that were tucked into high black boots. He wore black gloves, had his hair tied with a black ribbon and was carrying, in his left hand, a black cane with a silver snake's head.

"Lucius! You startled me."

Lucius gave Severus a sly grin. "That was the idea, dear boy." Then he looked back at the Muggles. "Do they really think this used to be some sort of temple to their religion?"

"Yes." Severus was painfully aware of his muddy knee poking through his trousers, of the dirt under his fingernails and of how he must look like a filthy peasant next to a prince.

"And they really can't see the ghosts?"

There were several ghosts floating around the Muggles. One of the ghosts was waving his severed arm over his head and shouting at the man in the skull cap. The ghost seemed quite put out that the Muggles couldn't see them.

"Mrs. Grimstead said Muggles can only see Muggle ghosts and since only Wizards or Witches can become ghosts. . ."

Lucius laughed softly, then said, "Mrs. Grimstead?"

Severus ducked his head, embarrassed. He hated to explain that he hadn't been idle while waiting for Lucius to contact him because he couldn't afford to be.

"She's the village apothecary." He pointed at the sack. "I've been working for her."

"Typical." Lucius seemed amused. "Just like my uncle. Can't stand not to be working on something."

Severus looked up. Lucius had assumed he was working because he was bored. Of course, it would never occur to a Malfoy that work was necessary. Hesitantly, Severus said, "About your uncle. . ."

"Ah!" Lucius turned and sat on the ground next to Severus, putting his back to the wall that Severus was leaning on. "Getting the paperwork through the Ministry Department for Assistants, Apprentices and Underlings. He's quite annoyed at how long it's taking. I said I'd look into it for him this afternoon. Which I will, after I see how you're holding up." Lucius gave Severus a long look. "How are you holding up?"

Severus felt his cheeks flush and he mumbled, "Well enough."

"Good." Lucius sat back, rocking his cane from hand to hand.

"Did you hurt yourself?"

"Hmmm?" The cane stopped moving. "This? No, this was an engagement present from my future mother-in-law." Lucius gripped the head of the cane and pulled, revealing his wand.

"Brilliant!"

Lucius laughed. "That's what I thought. I was afraid she was going to give me some useless bit of silver for the table. My family has so much table silver we can have a hundred guests for dinner and not even get into the second best stuff. This is much better."

It was odd, thought Severus, he isn't boasting about his family's wealth, just saying it as a matter of fact. The Malfoys probably have tons of of silver salvers and candlesticks and whatnot.

There was something intimate about sitting shoulder to shoulder with Lucius Malfoy, in the warm summer sunshine, while Muggle tourists argued about something they didn't understand. Severus tried to imagine what the Muggles would think if they could see the two wizards, one beautiful with hair like moonlight, dressed in velvet and satin, and one dark and ugly and dressed in rags. Probably think we're some Muggle fairy story, he decided, having heard about Muggle fairy tales from someone.

An odd thought struck Severus and, since he didn't seem to have that automatic sense for what was right and what was wrong to say out loud, he asked it. 

"Do you want to get married?" He knew Narcissa Black was beautiful, knew she was clever and well brought up, a perfect pureblood match for Lucius Malfoy, but he also knew that Lucius didn't seem to moon over Narcissa the way some people behaved when they were supposed to be in love.

Lucius didn't see to be offended. He kept sliding his wand in and out of his cane, thinking it over.

"I should get married," he said, after a long pause. "The Malfoy line needs to continue."

Severus didn't say anything. He remembered an argument between his parents, just before his mother moved them here, to her home village, miles away from his father's cramped house in London. His father had said he wished the Snape line had died with him.

"Narcissa is a wonderful witch. She knows how to run the Manor, is lovely to look at," Lucius paused and gave Severus a nudge with his elbow. "and will be a perfect hostess and mother. I certainly can't think of any other witch I'd want to marry."

"So, you want to get married."

The wand slid firmly home into its sheath with a click. "I want to get married. But I'm not some maudlin Muggle, you know. While I enjoy having Narcissa in my bed, she does lack some qualities that I like in a bed partner."

Severus was quite sure his heart had just stopped. Lucius Malfoy was leaning over and kissing him. It was a light kiss, Lucius' lips just brushing against Severus'. From this close, Severus could see the long pale sweep of Lucius' eyelashes. Lucius sat back, head tilted to one side, and gave Severus another sly smile.

"Are you a virgin, Severus Snape?" Lucius' solemn voice was at odds with his grin.

Severus looked away from those pale eyes that seemed to look straight into his soul. "Not completely," he mumbled.

"Ah. Some quick gropes with some of the other boys, then? Or girls."

Severus flushed. "No girls." He tugged at a loose thread. "No girl would come near me except to ask for help with their classes." He took a deep breath and looked back up at Lucius. "I'm not blind nor am I stupid. I know I'm ugly and greasy and about as undesirable a wizard as ever lived."

Lucius ran his tongue over his lips before saying, "If you are so undesirable, why am I trying to seduce you?"

"I don't know."

Lucius laughed. "You may be ugly, but you are honest."

"So, why are you trying to seduce me?"

Lucius reached out with his cane, placing the head of it under Severus' chin, and tipped the younger man's head up so that Severus had to squint into the sun.

"There is something. . .almost compelling about you, Severus, my boy. Now don't snort, it's unattractive. You are very intense. Intensity can be interesting." 

Lucius tossed the cane aside. "Besides, I want to know if it's true what they say about men with big noses."

Severus smirked. "It is."

"Oh, good." 

Lucius leaned forward, cupping Severus' face in his hands, his gloves warm and soft against Severus' skin. Severus let his eyes drift close as Lucius kissed him. He hadn't lied to Lucius, there had been some gropes, some mutual wanking and the odd bit of frottage, but there hadn't been much kissing, certainly not slowly and carefully like this.

When Lucius sat back, Severus frowned, afraid he had disappointed, but then Lucius cast a cleansing spell and Severus felt the layers of grime on both his person and his clothes melt away. 

"Lie down," commanded Lucius, tossing his cloak onto the grass, unconcerned that the expensive material might be damaged.

"What about them?" Severus pointed towards the Muggles. Now they were screened from view by a ruined bit of wall and some shrubbery but if the Muggles took the remains of a staircase up the hillside, Severus and Lucius would be visible.

"Muggles." Lucius sneered. He snatched up his cane and pulled out his wand again. "Reluecsco Spiritus!"

Standing in front of the Muggles was a particularly gruesome ghost, one who has been disemboweled. His intestines dripped down over his robes and his face was contorted in agony. Until Lucius' spell struck him, he hadn't been paying much attention to the Muggles but was watching some birds. Severus knew, from talking to him, that the ghost found bird watching a very peaceful activity. The ghost had pointed out and named several birds for Severus, when Severus had been collecting mushrooms the previous spring. Suddenly, there was a bright flash and the disemboweled figure was suddenly glowing a silvery green, right in front of the the Muggles. 

The ghost, Severus was amused to note, was as startled by the spell as the Muggles. He gave a cry of surprise at the same time, the Muggles let out varied shrieks of terror. Lucius fell over laughing as the ghost swirled away, howling, in the opposite direction of the screaming Muggles. Even Severus, who wasn't often prone to laughing out loud, snickered at the sight. One of the Muggles even ran past their horseless carriage parked on the pavement below the ruins, hands waving in the air.

Lucius lay down next to Severus on the cloak, laughing merrily, waving his hands over his head in mock terror and laughing again, until he was nearly breathless.

"Merlin's bullocks, I do think Muggles are the funniest things, don't you?"

Severus shrugged, not really interested in talking about Muggles, not with Lucius Malfoy lying next to him.

"I don't think much about them at all."

Lucius stopped laughing and looked over at Severus, something speculative in his grey eyes. "No. You should, though."

"Now?"

"No, not now."

Lucius lay half on Severus as they kissed, hands running lazily over Severus. Every now and then, Lucius would murmur an instruction and Severus would instantly obey. After all, Severus thought, Lucius knows more about what we're doing than I do.

What Lucius Malfoy was doing was exploring the body and responses of Severus Snape, which Severus was more than willing to let him do. Lucius, oddly enough, kept his gloves on the whole time and didn't actually remove any clothing beyond robes they were lying on but Severus didn't care. Malfoy's body was warm and his breath was sweet and what he was doing to Severus was wonderful.

Lucius had slid his gloved hands into Severus' clothes, unfastening his jacket, shirt and trousers, stroking gently, as if he were trying to map Severus' body rather than arouse it. Still, Severus was eighteen and didn't need much encouragement. When Lucius wrapped a gloved hand around Severus' hard cock, Severus moaned, his hands clutching at Lucius' shoulders.

"You're not much to look at," Lucius chuckled, tightening his grip and making Severus moan again, "but that voice of yours is a wonder." Another tug and slide and Lucius added, "and your prick isn't half bad, either."

Severus slid one hand down and into Lucius' trousers, which Lucius assisted by rolling over a little. Once Severus had a hand on the other man's cock, Lucius rolled close again and they set to wanking each other seriously.

A strand of Lucius' hair had come loose from its ribbon and was tickling Severus' cheek but Severus didn't mind. If anything, the distraction kept him from coming too soon. Lucius' leather clad hand was tight on Severus' cock, so tight it almost hurt. Lucius' was gasping, pushing his hips forward into Severus' hand. Severus had his free hand wrapped around Lucius shoulder, pulling the other man close. Severus didn't know if it was Lucius' superior experience or just the circumstances, lying under the arch of the blue sky, free to make any sound he wished without fear of annoying a roommate or alerting his mother, but Severus felt as if he were about to experience the best orgasm of his short sex life. In fact, he was certain of it.

Lucius suddenly raised himself up on his elbow and said, his voice harsh as his hips continued to push against Severus, "One day soon, I'm going to fuck you properly. Good and hard and. . ."

Severus stared up at the glorious vision of Lucius Malfoy, pale face flushed, eyes dark with lust, staring down at him with desire. He felt Lucius' cock pulse in his hand and then orgasm forced his eyes closed.

They lay together, hands on each other's cocks, as their orgasms came to an end. Then Lucius pulled away just enough to murmur a cleaning spell, not as potent as the one he had cast on Severus earlier. Severus expected Lucius to stand up, tuck himself away and pretend nothing had happened, the way other boys had after a sexual encounter with Severus Snape but Lucius Malfoy did nothing of the sort. He sprawled across Severus, as if Severus were a bolster, and made himself comfortable.

"Having you around the Manor will be a relief," said Lucius, poking at Severus' bony hip, as if he could fluff him up, "Then Uncle Gaius can talk to someone else about his damned potions and I will have someone to talk to besides Aunt Lucretia. She's always on about the wedding."

Cautiously, Severus touched Lucius' head and when Lucius didn't complain, started stroking the blond hair under his hand, delighted at how it felt like silk.

"You'll have to meet the Dark Lord, of course, once you. . ."

"What?" Severus barely noticed the change in conversation. Funny how sex affected one's ability to concentrate, he thought vaguely.

"Voldemort." Lucius whispered the name, then spoke in his usual voice. "I wanted to introduce you into the fold ages ago but Uncle Gaius has had his eye on you and wanted to make sure you finished school. Old Stumblebore can be such an idiot when it comes to some things."

"I'm not really interested in politics."

Lucius sighed and sat up. "It's more than politics, Severus. It's about how we live our lives. Whether we spend them in fear of Muggles or use our gifts, our power, properly." 

Severus blinked. Lucius' whole face glowed with an intensity that hadn't been there even as came all over Severus.

"Power, Severus Snape," breathed Lucius, leaning close, "And putting Muggle lovers, like James Potter and Sirius Black, in their place."

The beautiful sunny day, the haze of the aftermath of sex, even the presence of Lucius Malfoy, cracked and vanished at the sound of those hated names. Severus lurched to his feet, frantically fastening his clothing. Just those names filled Severus with a rage that made him want to break something. He wasn't even aware of Lucius Malfoy studying him, a look of triumph on the other wizard's face.

"Bastards," hissed Severus, hand clenched into fists, putting all his effort into not drawing his wand and blasting away at any possible target in his fury. He could feel the anger rolling off him, making the grass lie flat as if in a heavy wind.

"Agreed," said Lucius, his voice casual, his manner equally so, as he stood up and straightened his clothing, but his eyes told a different story.

Severus whirled, his cloak flaring out behind him. "I want to meet Voldemort."

Severus was so angry, he didn't register how Lucius' smile was more of a triumphant smirk as Lucius said, "You will, dear boy. Now you go on back home and I'll head to the Ministry to see if I can give those useless bureaucrats a good whipping and get your paper work through."

Lucius brushed Severus' cheek with the back of one gloved hand, then vanished with a sharp crack. Severus stared at the spot where Lucius had been for several minutes, trying to take it all in. Sex. Lucius Malfoy. Voldemort. Sex.

Someone was shouting in the distance. He turned and saw the Muggles were back, with some others. They were all gesturing and pointing. They would notice him in a moment. Severus didn't really want to head back home just yet, not with the faint scent of Lucius Malfoy still clinging to him, with a long strand of Lucius' silken hair wrapped around his fingers, but he supposed he had to. He vanished, not noticing the Muggles as they looked up at the sound of his Apparation.

Severus had been distracted the rest of the day. Even Mrs. Grimstead noticed, especially since he had collected very little. He just shrugged and ignored her. He did much the same with his mother, when she asked him about his day. He spent much of the evening in his room, silencing charms in full force, thinking quite a bit about how Lucius kissed and, in between orgasms, about the Dark Lord and just how Severus would use that connection to get his revenge on Potter and Black.

When he came down in the morning, it was to find an enormous eagle owl finishing off some bacon rind. The bird hooted softly at Severus, verifying that the letter had been delivered to the correct recipient, and took off through the open window. A letter, wrapped in green ribbon, and a small sack of black cloth sat on the table.

"It's for you," his mother said, poking at the sack with her fork. "And it has the Malfoy crest."

The letter said what Severus expected it to say. It was all very formal, about his responsibilities and his Master's responsibilities, with an official Ministry seal at the bottom. He would be bound to Gaius Malfoy, as an apprentice, subject to every whim of his Master, for a period of one year. If at any time his Master wanted to dismiss him, his Master could, provided his Master sent a copy of the reasons for dismissal, in triplicate, to the appropriate Ministry office. Severus would have very few rights, although it was mentioned that his Master could not kill him, nor use him for an purpose that would cause 'irreparable bodily, spiritual or magical harm' nor sell him to another Master without express Ministry permission. Severus signed and initialed where the letter indicated, his mother signed as his witness, and the letter duplicated itself, then the original vanished.

His mother drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You're the formal apprentice of Gaius Malfoy. I only hope you're doing the right thing."

Severus had opened the black bag. At his mother's remarks, he upended it on the table, spilling out a pile of Galleons bigger than any he had ever seen. Which considering the poverty of his childhood, wasn't much, but it was still impressive.

"The note says I'm to use it to purchase robes and equipment. There's a list." He showed it to his mother.

"Nimue's nipples," said his mother, stunned into swearing. "Severus, he sent twice as much as you'll need."

Severus remembered Lucius' casual mention of the family silver. "I don't think Malfoys worry much about expenses."

"No." His mother smoothed her apron and gave her son a surprisingly bright smile. "I think I'll close the shop and we can go down to Hodgepiddle's to see about all this."

Severus gave the bag a final shake and out fell a train ticket. First class, dated for two days hence. First class, thought Severus. He'd never traveled first class. He found a smile on his own face at the thought of new robes, new cauldrons and a first class ticket. 

The Hodgepiddles had been duly impressed, when Severus and his mother swept into their store an hour later. Severus had to make an effort not to laugh as his mother, her voice superior, her manner imperious, mentioned the Malfoy name at least a dozen times as she ordered the supplies and robes the Hodgepiddles didn't have readily in stock.

"Yes," his mother said, almost preening, "Severus' NEWT scores aren't really a concern, we know he did brilliantly and so does Gaius Malfoy, that's why he signed on Severus without awaiting the results."

"Oh, I think we better get your best grade of serge for Severus' robes. They'll wear better and I'm sure the Malfoys expect quality. If you can't have them made in time for Severus to leave day after tomorrow, we'll just Apparate down to London and see Madame Malkin."

"Lucius Malfoy and Severus were such good chums in school, you know. Nice young man, Lucius Malfoy, and such a good example of a well brought up Wizard. I suppose those dress robes your Master wanted you to bring will be so you can attend Lucius' wedding."

And on and on. Severus was a bit stunned by the whole process but by tea time, which they took in Hodgepiddle's tea room, rather than their own kitchen, Severus had a complete new wardrobe, from hat to shoes. A new trunk was packed with his new clothes and equipment, awaiting only a few items on order that were expected to arrive the next afternoon. His mother's hesitancy about the Malfoy family seemed to have faded in the face of the Malfoy Galleons. Mrs. Grimstead stopped by while they were eating, to pat Severus on the arm and congratulate him. Then she tugged him aside, while his mother was boasting to some of the other village Witches, and gave him a long, sharp look.

"The Malfoys," said Mrs. Grimstead, "are a family to watch. They are rich and powerful and are never satisfied but want more wealth and more power. "

"I'm going to be slicing flobberworms," Severus complained, wanting to get back to his first good meal since leaving Hogwarts. "I'm only a step above a house elf."

Mrs. Grimstead frowned. "Malfoys probably treat their house elves badly. I only hope they don't do the same to you."

Severus glanced back at his cooling dinner, trying to pull away from Mrs. Grimstead's suddenly tight grip. She hissed his name sharply and he turned back.

"They are Dark Wizards, Severus Snape. And Darkness will call to you, I know it. Be careful." Then she gave him a sharp push and sent him back to his mother.

He didn't think much about Mrs. Grimstead's remarks. He knew damned well the Malfoys were Dark Wizards. He knew he was one as well, or would be, soon enough. 

The morning he was to leave, he took a long bath, and had a long wank, thinking about what it would be like to be around Lucius regularly, then dressed in his new apprentice's robes. They were stiff and uncomfortable compared to his old robes but when he caught his reflection in glass of a cabinet in his mother's shop, he stopped and stared at himself. Severus had avoided mirrors for years, loathing his own reflection but the person dimly reflected in the glass was someone else. He straightened, turning and turning again, watching the way the robes swirled around him.

"Oh, my," said his mother and he blushed at having been caught out. She just ran forward and pulled him into an awkward hug. "I am so proud of you!"

Severus stepped back, frowning. His mother had tears in her eyes as she reached up and brushed his hair back off his face, then smoothed her hands down his chest. He hadn't been this close to his mother in ages and was rather startled to see how much shorter she was than him now.

"Be careful," his mother said, barely above a whisper, her words addressed to the row of buttons on his new robes. "The Malfoys are. . ."

"Dark Wizards." Severus made a derisive noise. "I was in Slytherin House, in case you've forgotten. I know what I'm getting in to."

"Do you?" His mother cocked her head and looked up at him. "We all think we know what we're doing when we're young." A look of pain flickered across her features and she turned away abruptly. "Are you all packed?"

Severus nodded. The only old thing in his new trunk was his Slytherin scarf. He was ready to leave this life, this miserable little village, behind him. He didn't say that, though, only said, "I'd better go."

His mother had said she might go with him to the train but two elderly women arrived, tittering at the sight of Severus. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the black sack, and slipped it into his mother's apron pocket. They had spent over half the Galleons and Severus had divided the rest. Half were in his pocket and half in the sack. He gave them to her now, knowing the distraction of customers would prevent any embarrassing scenes. Then he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, grabbed his trunk, and Apparated to the train station.

The station master looked surprised to see Severus and his trunk. The surprise turned to astonishment when Severus produced his ticket. The fool tested it to make sure it was genuine, only finishing his inspection as the train pulled into the station.

"See you at the hols," said the station master, who had never addressed Severus before in anything resembling a polite manner until he had seen the ticket.

"No," said Severus firmly, directing the conductor to have his trunk sent to first class. "I don't think I'll be coming back again."

"But your mum. . ."

"Is taken care of, not that that is any concern of yours." Severus tugged at his robe, not entirely pleased with the way it swept behind him as he boarded. He'd have to work on that. He found his seat and sat, looking straight ahead, having no desire to see the miserable little station disappearing behind him.

He was part of the Malfoy household now. Severus Snape traveled first class. Severus Snape wore only the best grade of wool serge. His old life, of the bullied, miserable, poor wretch was behind him. What lay ahead was success and he was prepared for it.

Or so he thought.

November 7, 2004


End file.
